Job Upgrade!!!

My hard work is paying off. After completing three semesters of the nursing program, I am now officially a nurse--an LPN that is. One more year til I'm an RN. But still, I'm a nurse! Today was my first day working and let me tell you, it is sooo much better than being a CNA. I feel so lucky to have this job because not a lot of places are hiring and because I get an 80% raise! And that feels good. Yay for me!

I'm a Slacker

Jeff has recently pointed out to me that it has almost been two months since I lasted posted. I know, I'm a slacker. I have a ton to post about so I will be posting more often in the next couple weeks.

So here's item #1: Moab and My Birthday

My birthday usually lands during finals for winter semester. However, this year it landed after finals and on the break between winter and spring classes. It's much better that way. So for my birthday, Jeff took me down to Moab! I had never been there and desperately needed to get away from this town so we went camping. It had been a long, long time since either of us had been camping, but it was fun! We had some crazy campground dilemmas but luckily got our money back and we were able to go find a much better campground--ya know, one that you can actually have a fire in.

We spent most of the time hiking at Arches National Park (and thus getting very sunburned!), but also tried new restaurants, went to 17 Again, and lounged by the pool and hot tub.

Here are some not-so-glamorous pictures. Give us a break people, we were camping :)


Jeff showing off his mad balancing skills at Balancing Rock.
The cute little tent...and the cute little man :)
This is before we realized that the sun was going to come out and get blazing hot. It was cold and cloudy at first so we didn't put on any sunscreen. Bad idea.
Delicate Arch. It was SOOOO windy up there. I was afraid we were gonna get blown over the side. That's also why I'm holding my bangs back.

Thanks Jeff for a super fun trip. Love you lots!

The Grocery Store Experience

A couple of weeks ago I had a very interesting grocery store experience that I wanted to share cause it is really funny. My wife and I only have one car so it involves a lot of dropping off, picking up, and patience. Well this day the snow was out and about in April (gotta love Utah). THE PLAN: Brianne was going to drop me off at 8:30 to job shadow Chelsea Marshall (PA) and then go workout and come back and pick me up at 10:30. She was feeling fat that day so the 2 hour workout was necessary in her eyes. Sounds really simple I know, but that was the plan, only the plan. WHAT REALLY HAPPENED: Brianne dropped me off at the Family Practice office located in Provo a good 15 min driving from our house in Orem. When I arrived I found out Chelsea was sick with pneumonia and forgot to call me so I shot the breeze with her for about 5 min wanting to leave so I could call my wife and tell her to come back and pick me up before she entered the gym without her cell phone. I left the office and called her phone right away. NO LUCK SHE WAS ALREADY IN THE GYM. Knowing I had 2 hours to kill I headed to a small supermarket across the street. Pouring rain outside I wasn't about to walk in slacks and a tie home so I killed some time. I am not sure if any of you have spent 2 hours in a small grocery store but it gets BORINGGGGG. My activities while in this store consisted of reading people magazine, studying my golf swing in Golf's Digest, walking up and down the aisles 50 times, quizzing myself on nutritional facts, etc. After about an hour of being the weirdo walking up and down the aisles an employee asked me if I needed something. I explained the situation to her and told her I was just waiting for a ride and who knows how long I would be stuck there. During the 2 hours I spent in the store I called Brianne 20 times with hope to get a hold of her so when she got done with her workout she saw 20 missed calls on her phone. Freaking out she apologized but it wasn't her fault at all. I just had to tell you cause never in my life have I spent 2 hours killing time in a grocery store.

I LOVE MY HUSBAND/WIFE TAG

In light of recent threats from my cousin Whitney I complete the tag she gave me.

1. Where did you meet your husband/wife? What was the first thing he/she said to you? I met Brianne in Salem, Oregon where she is from. In the summer I was out there knocking doors selling Satellite systems (I know please don't judge me) when the first week I arrived there was a tri-stake break the fast at a nearby church. I remember entering walking with my buddy through the hallway and a girl passed me on my left carrying some kind of bowl with food. I thought, "she was hot and she had food. Do I need anything else?" I didn't say anything to her but throughout the testimony meeting I scanned the audience like any single man would do and saw her. My eyes had a mind of their own with were addicted to looking at her. I didn't really get too much out of that meeting. I had to talk to her. After we had a break the fast in the gym and she was nowhere to be found. Pissed I sat down with my buddy next to some other girls but they were boring. Looking I spotted her and beligned it to her table. I don't remember what first said to me but we got married so it was probably good.
2. Where was your first date?
We played games at my Apartment.
3. When was your first kiss?
I think it was after our 4th date. It wasn't my finest hour but she was willing to do it again.
4. Who said I love you first?
I did although she knew she wanted to marry me first so I will give her that credit. I took her up to the mountains and danced outside the car. Let the words fly and I got them right back thank goodness.
5. Did you have a long or short engagement/courtship?
Long courtship and short engagement. We dated for about 10 months and were engaged for two. To me that is the only way to go if you want to keep your chastity. The hormones are not well controlled in a long engagement.
6. Where did you get engaged?
I have told this story thousands of times it seems like. I took her up to Y mountain and had a big UHAUL trailer parked where the back door was open over looking the city. I had my roomate be our waiter and he went early to prepare the moment. Rose petals covered the ground and table while candles were the only light. He served us throughout the night. Earlier I filmed myself attending a few important events in our courtship (first kiss, first time we met, etc). At the end standing in front of the temple I made a acronym for her name with characteristics I loved about her. At the end I got on my knee and busted the question. She said YES!! and grabbed the ring from me and put it on herself.
7. Where did you get married?
Portland Oregon LDS Temple on June 29, 2009.

Two thumbs up for FIVE GUYS

Living in Orem/Provo, Utah, you live in the presence of almost 60,000 students between BYU and UVU. You do have some drawbacks, but on the plus side, lots of restaurants are not hard to come by. My wife and I are cold hard white skinned Americans and love a good juicy American Bacon Cheeseburger. When a new restaurant called FIVE GUYS opened up 2 minutes from our house, we had to give it a try. Saturday before Priesthood session (it was quite funny, half of the people in the restaurant were guys dressed in white shirts and ties) we headed over to Five Guys. Two thumbs up from Jeff. Brianne liked ,but she still has her heart set on Fuddruckers (another local burger joint). I really liked the atmosphere of the restaurant. The kitchen is open for your viewing pleasure. Great music playing and the portion sizes were well done for the cost. They don't charge extra for any toppings (grilled onions, peppers, etc). The fries are fresh cut daily. Also, being an Idaho boy, it was cool to see that the potatoes that day were from Rexburg, ID. Best of all you can order as many patties as you want. I went for a double but I do feel a contest coming on. Overall I would give the restaurant an A- for the overall visit. If there is one near you, GO!!!!!!